St. Bernard (dog) - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Grupp_2_SANK_BERNHARDSHUND%2C_KORTH%C3%85RIG%2C_St_Zamba%E2%80%99s_Downtown_Diamond_%28isolated%29.png/220px-Grupp_2_SANK_BERNHARDSHUND%2C_KORTH%C3%85RIG%2C_St_Zamba%E2%80%99s_Downtown_Diamond_%28isolated%29.png)
The St. Bernard is a very large breed of dog. It was originally bred as a working dog, to rescue people who were lost in the Swiss Alps. Famously, it was believed that they carried a small barrel of brandy around their neck to revive frozen mountaineers. There is no historical evidence that they did actually carry this brandy, although the monks at the St. Bernard Hospice keep some barrels around for photographs with tourists.[1]
It is a very big dog with a big head. A full grown male can weigh between 64 to 82 kg (140 to 180 lb) and a full grown female can weigh 54 to 64 kg (120 to 140 lb). The largest dog ever was a St. Bernard called Benedictine who weighed 162 kg (357 lb).
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Legend of the Saint Bernard Barrel | It's the Dogs Life". Archived from the original on 2014-02-18. Retrieved 2009-09-17.